Finding Beauty in the Darkness

by Ash, Nikki

  We’re coming up to our last day here and the guys have rented a boat for the day. Rachel was shy at first, but once Amber’s loud ass got ahold of her, the three of us hit it off.

  After getting the keys, the guys load up the huge boat with our cooler full of food and drinks and then Gio helps each of us women onto the deck. Mario and Rachel sit in the front seats and Nico and Amber sit toward the back, leaving Gio to drive.

  “Can you drive this thing?” I ask.

  Gio laughs. “I own one of these things. C’mon.” He pulls me in front of him, sandwiching my body between his front and the steering wheel, and turns the ignition, starting the boat. I have no idea what he does, but after pressing a few buttons and pulling a lever down, the boat moves forward. We wade away from the docks slowly, but once we get into the open water, Gio’s breath hits my ear. “Hold on, baby, it’s about to get rough.”

  Pulling hard on the lever, the boat smoothly increases in speed. The wind is slapping Rachel and Mario in their faces, but Gio and I are protected by the glass. The water comes up around us as the boat hits each wave. We continue to increase in speed, the ocean breeze whirring around us, when I feel Gio’s fingers enter my bikini bottoms. Nobody can see us because of the dashboard, but I still dart my eyes around to make sure.

  “Hold the wheel, baby,” he croons, and I do as he says, my hands holding the steering wheel steady so we keep going straight. The speed evens out, but we’re still going fast enough that the wind is loud to our ears. His hand taps my thigh and I separate my legs slightly, giving him access.

  His fingers push into me and he pumps them in and out a few times until I’m slick with arousal. I feel his fingers move to my clit and he spreads my juices, massaging my sensitive nub. My head goes back slightly, my eyes rolling back in pleasure, and I feel Gio softly laughing at me. “Baby you’re holding the steering wheel. You need to open your eyes.” My eyes flutter back open, my mind trying to focus on keeping us straight, but it’s almost impossible with his fingers gently massaging my clit. He knows exactly what he’s doing and it feels so good.

  His mouth comes down onto my neck, sucking lightly along the sensitive skin under my ear as his fingers and thumb pinch my clit. I gasp and he does it again. “Come for me, Ari. Come on, baby.” His assault on my clit and neck has me whimpering and begging for release as I pray my legs don’t give out and I don’t get us into an accident.

  His fingers aren’t gentle. They’re rough and desperate and I can feel my orgasm building higher and higher until my body finally detonates, waves of pleasure pouring through me. My eyes roll back as everything goes black for a moment.

  I open my eyes and look at Gio just in time to see him pull his hand out of my suit bottoms and bring them up to my mouth. “Taste yourself, baby.” I willingly part my lips, but instead of pushing his fingers inside my mouth, he brings them up to his mouth, sucking my juices off—a soft groan resonating from his chest. Then he brings them back to my lips and pushes them into my mouth. My tongue swirls around his fingers as I suck my juices and his saliva off his flesh. “Fuck, woman.” He pulls the digits from my lips and replaces them with his mouth and tongue, devouring me.

  “Gio!” someone yells, but I’m so lost in this man, I don’t pay any attention. “Fucking Asshole! We aren’t moving.” I recognize the voice as Nico’s. Oh shit! The boat! I push Gio’s mouth off mine and look around, realizing the boat has come to a complete stop right in the middle of the ocean. Gio chuckles softly, licking his lips. “You taste damn good.” He leans down one more time, kissing the side of my throat before he turns me back around and pulls the lever again, the boat lurching forward right along with my heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  ARIA

  “How long will you be gone for?” We’ve been back from the Bahamas for over a month, during which time I’ve been looking into reenrolling in college for the fall and finding out which classes I’ll have to make up. Gio asked that I stay living here until the Weston situation gets dealt with. He’s concerned he’s waiting for me to slip up so he can take me again.

  I made it clear to him that I wouldn’t be going anywhere unless he made me. I love spending my days with the girls here at the mansion and my nights wrapped up in Gio. We’ve gone on several double dates with Nico and Amber and if I didn’t know better, I would think Gio’s been in several relationships. He’s that good at it.

  “I’ll only be gone for the weekend. Stay here and behave, please.” He picks up his suitcase and gives me a kiss. It ends too quickly, so I grab his neck and pull him back down into a more passionate kiss, our tongues exploring each other’s mouths. I suck on his lips and when we finally separate, I’m panting unabashedly, needing more.

  I look in Gio’s eyes and see my entire future standing right here in front of me, and the words escape before I can reign them in. “I love you.”

  Gio stills, but his eyes soften and he pulls me into another punishing kiss. Only he doesn’t stop there. His luggage hits the ground and when he releases me, my lips feel bruised and puffy when I run my tongue along them. He pulls his jacket and shirt off, his pants next. I follow his lead and rid myself of my clothes.

  Picking me up by my ass, he throws me onto the bed. “Flip over and get on your knees, baby.” I do as he says, my ass lifting in the air, waiting for his next command. Crawling up behind me, he leans down and places a kiss on each cheek. Then he continues upward, pressing soft, wet kisses along my spine. When he reaches my shoulders, he dusts my hair to the side and trails dozens of kisses along my shoulders and up my neck.

  He nudges my legs open, and I can feel the head of his cock seeking entrance as his weight comes back down on me. Tilting my head to the side, my mouth searches for his as he pushes into me slowly from behind, a low moan escaping me. His lips find mine and our kiss deepens. We stay like this for several beats, until I wiggle my ass, needing him to move in me.

  Releasing my mouth, his thrusts pick up. His hands palm my breasts, his fingers pinching my nipples as he fucks me deep. My back arches in pleasure, pushing back and meeting him thrust for thrust. He pulls back and angles my ass higher, allowing him to go deeper so he’s hitting that perfect spot in me. My body begins to shake as my orgasm overtakes me, and Gio follows shortly after.

  Leaning back down, still inside of me, Gio whispers, “I love you too, Aria.” He pulls out of me and I immediately miss the warmth he elicits within me. I turn over onto my back, needing to take a calming breath before I get up to clean myself. Only before I do, Gio returns with a warm washcloth. He spreads my legs and cleans me up. Throwing the washcloth to the side, he crawls up my body and gives me a soft kiss. First on my lips, then on my throat. He works his way down, giving each breast a kiss, then trails dozens of kisses down along my torso until he reaches my sex. He places a soft, wet kiss on the top of my mound then looks up at me, granting me with a playful lopsided grin before he works his way back up my body ending where he started, with my lips. Not wanting our connection to break, I wrap my arms around his neck and my ankles around his waist.

  “I’m late.” He chuckles, then pulls back, peeling himself off me.

  * * *

  It’s day two without Gio and I’m missing him like crazy. We text throughout day when he’s not busy and last night we video chatted. He even convinced me to participate in some kinky phone sex. While that was hot, I can’t wait for him to return.

  I’m hanging out in the kitchen with Natalie and Holly when Cecilia walks in. “Veronica, the new girl, had to go home for an emergency. Can either of you take over her date tonight?” Both girls shake their heads.

  “Great!” She taps away on her phone for a few minutes, then says, “I spoke with Giovanni and he asked if you could do him the favor and meet with the new member tonight.”

  “Gio would never ask that.” I look at Cecilia incredulously. She turns her phone around so I can read her texts, and my stomach feels like lead.

  Giovanni: Stanley is an imp
ortant member. Ask Aria to do it. Tell her I’m asking her as a personal favor.

  My heart breaks that Gio would even consider me an option. He hasn’t said it since the day he left, but when he told me he loved me, I thought it meant something to him. To ask me to work for him, to be with another man, this can’t be right.

  “He wants me to have sex with him?”

  Cecilia rolls her eyes. “Of course not. It’s just a meet and greet. He’s booked the private room, but it’s only for companionship.”

  “I’ll call him and ask him myself.” I grab my phone from my back pocket, but it rings once and goes to voicemail. I try again and it does it again. “Fine. If that’s what he wants, then I’ll do it.” I leave the kitchen to go get ready and send Gio numerous texts, asking him why he would do this, but he doesn’t answer a single one.

  Once I’m dressed and ready to go, I try to call Gio one last time, getting the same voicemail. “Hey Gio, it’s me. I’m about to entertain a new guest for you. Cecilia said you asked me to do it as a favor, but I don’t get it. I know we haven’t made anything official, but you asked me to quit working here. I just don’t understand. Okay, well, call me when you get this, please.”

  I tuck my phone into my pocket in case Gio calls or texts and head downstairs to greet Stanley. Normally Edgardo tells us where to go, but when I get down there, Cecilia is waiting. “Room one, Aria.” She gives me a tight-lipped smile and I nod and head down the hallway.

  I knock once before opening the door. At first, I don’t see anyone, so I walk farther into the room. The door slams closed behind me and when I turn around, I’m face-to-face with the man who has haunted me every night in my sleep.

  “Help!” I scream out, hoping somebody will hear me. “Heeeellllpppp!” I scream again. Before I can scream for a third time, Weston’s hand comes down and hits me across my face. I try to run—where? I’m not sure—but he catches me and throws me onto the ground like I’m a ragdoll. The back of my head hits the marble floor and the room begins to spin. I will myself to fight. I kick and punch and at one point, I feel myself bite him, the metallic taste of his blood coating my tongue and lips. But he fights back harder. His hands grab mine, pinning them above my head, and I take the opportunity to scream again as loud as possible until Weston shoves a piece of material into my mouth, gagging me.

  “Shut the fuck up, you slutty piece of trash.”

  I try to kick, but his heavy legs are pinning mine down. His hand comes down to my breast and he violently grabs it, tweaking my nipple until I silently scream out. My vision goes blurry as my eyes bleed with pain. His hand goes to my silk shorts and he shoves his fingers into my panties.

  Just as his fingers find my sex, light fills the room. The door swings open and Weston flies off me and into the wall. I scramble back, removing the material from my mouth and watching as Edgardo beats Weston into a bloody pulp. He punches him repeatedly in the face, never letting up. At some point, Rome and Caesar run in and pull Edgardo off Weston. He’s not even moving anymore. If Weston isn’t dead, he’s damn close to it.

  “Come on, Aria. Let’s get you up to your room.” Rome lifts me into his arms, bridal style, and carries me into my room, laying me on the bed. I don’t let go of him, not wanting to be alone. My body is freezing and I’m pretty sure I’m going into shock. “I don’t know what happened, but I promise you we will get to the bottom of this.” Rome sits on the bed next to me, petting my hair gently. My eyes begin to close, the adrenaline wearing down, but they pop back open when images of Weston attacking me come to the front.

  Once they start, I can’t stop them. My mind plays like a song on repeat. Him hitting me, attacking me, silencing me, grabbing me, trying to rape me. I don’t know how long these images run on repeat or for how long I’m crying, but suddenly I’m being picked up. I scream, scared I’m being attacked again, but Gio’s soothing voice calms me.

  “It’s okay, Ari. It’s me. I got you, baby. I’m so sorry.” He holds me close to his chest, rocking me as one would do a baby. I feel him push a single pill past my lips and I swallow it dry, and in the comfort of Gio’s arms, I allow my body some peace, closing my eyes and letting it all slip away.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  GIOVANNI

  I was on a flight from New Jersey to Las Vegas with my phone turned off when the texts and phone calls must have started. I was so aggravated from dealing with Sebastian and his bullshit all day, I didn’t text or call Aria once. Sebastian thought he’d be slick and intercept a shipment coming in, thinking we were all on the other side of the country, but what he wasn’t prepared for was me being there to intercept him.

  Normally the shipments come in and our hired men unload them and reload them for delivery. When one of my guys put a call in to let me know Sebastian pushed my guys out, I knew I had to jump on a plane and handle that bullshit myself. He declared war and he was about to lose. The joke was on me, though. Because while I was handling the shipment, my girlfriend was being attacked by the fucking senator.

  If you asked me a couple months ago if it’s possible the senator could be working with several mob families, I would have laughed in your face. Nobody, not even Senator Weston Hightower, would be that stupid. But I was wrong. After I finished overseeing the shipment, which went off without a hitch, I went into the city to find Sebastian. Words were spoken, threats were made, and I quickly learned once I had Sebastian against the wall that the senator made promises to the Lorenzo organization he can’t keep, in order to get them to work against me.

  Unfortunately, it was too late and while I was sitting on a flight, sipping on my scotch, Aria was fighting off that asshole. The minute the plane landed and my phone was turned back on, a slew of messages blew up my phone. They ranged from Aria asking why I would request for her to entertain a member, her clearly upset and confused, to Rome letting me know Aria had been attacked.

  The ride home was the longest forty minutes of my life. I tried to call Rome and Caesar but neither answered. I called Cecilia several times but she didn’t pick up. I had left Johnny in New Jersey to investigate further into the Lorenzo organization’s relationship with the senator. So as I sat in the backseat of the car while the hired driver took me to my house, I prayed to whatever God is up there that Aria is okay. I promised him that if she’s alive and safe I would do everything in my power to ensure she stays that way.

  The driver dropped me off and when I walked inside, the place was ghostly quiet. Edgardo wasn’t standing guard by the door. Emilio wasn’t manning the bar. The women and members were nowhere to be seen. I dropped my bag by the door and ran up the stairs to the third floor. I swung open my door to find Rome sitting on my bed, and in his arms, was Aria. She was awake and crying. Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t lucid. Tears raced down her cheeks as she silently lost it—my girl finally reaching her breaking point.

  Rome gave me a nod and moved off the bed. I picked her up and cradled her to my chest, rocking her until she finally fell asleep in my arms. When her breathing evened out and I knew she would be asleep for a while, I texted Rome and Caesar and told them to meet me up here.

  “Boss,” Rome says as he and Caesar enter my room. I keep Aria in my arms, afraid if I put her down, she’ll wake up. Afraid if I leave her alone, whatever she went through will haunt her in her sleep… more than it already does.

  “What happened?” I ask, keeping my voice low so she won’t wake up, when what I want to do is scream and shout and throw shit.

  Rome answers. “Cecilia was working with the senator. She has text messages between them, but to hide it, she had him in her contacts as you. She told Aria you needed her to entertain a member and when Aria went to go meet him, it was the senator waiting for her. Edgardo happened to be passing by, checking to make sure another room was clean, when he heard Aria screaming. He thought maybe it was coming from another room, but when he checked the video camera to make sure none of the girls were being pushed past their limits, he saw Aria on th
e ground with Weston over her.”

  “Did he…” I start, unable to finish the question.

  “No,” Caesar answers. “Edgardo got to him before he could. He roughed her up, but he didn’t get a chance to rape her. According to Cecilia, he wasn’t supposed to attack her. He was just supposed to take her and bring her back home.”

  “What?” I bark out. Aria stirs and I soothe her so she stays asleep.

  “The senator approached her and made it seem like Aria was using you for your money. A young girl lashing out at her dead mom’s husband and seeking attention. She agreed to help him take her home. She swears she didn’t know he was going to hurt her.”

  “She’s gone. She’s fired effective immediately and I want her and all of her shit out of this place tonight.”

  “You got it.”

  “Sebastian was working with the senator,” I inform them.

  “Fuck,” Rome spits out. “Wait…was?”

  “Was. I’m going to kill Weston, therefore, their alliance is in the past tense.”

  “Edgardo just about killed him. He ran in and saw him on Aria and nearly beat him to death.”

  “But he’s still alive, right?” I’m going to make damn sure I’ll be the one to end this asshole’s life.

  “Yeah, he’s down in holding. Should I contact Louie?”

  “Yeah, let him know I’ll have a body for him to handle in a few hours. Let Edgardo know I appreciate what he did for Aria tonight. I’ll thank him myself once I make it back out there. I gave Aria a sedative so she should be out for the night, but just in case, send Natalie up to stay with her. We’ll open back up tomorrow, business as usual. I’m going to have my mom come here and run things until I find a replacement for Cecilia.”